The World’s Greatest Actor

This is the cover of the new TIME. TIME also hosted the Lincoln screening and Q&A with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis, the World’s Greatest Actor, last night in New York. So in other words, everyone else, all the other 4 actors in the Best Actor Oscar category, be like Jessica Biel at Justin Timberlake’s wedding: just be happy to be invited. This is what happens in a DDL year, right? No one else has a chance. Because, obviously, he’s DDL. But also... I mean... it’s not like there aren’t people actively working on selling this as fact, either. Remember, Lincoln is Dreamworks and Disney. They know exactly what they’re doing: they are cleverly telling us that he IS the World’s Greatest Actor because this is what we’ve always believed, didn’t you know? It’s fascinating marketing. And it’s even more effective when the World’s Greatest Actor is helping it along...

A reader called Jaspreet wrote to me yesterday positing that “it’s not like (DDL) is a rabid campaigner”. He’s not, no. He’s not rabid. But he does campaign. It’s not like he doesn’t participate. Oh he participates. And he does to support his films AND because he loves to win and wants to win. Let’s not assume that the legendary artist is above the sell. Please. On the contrary, let’s celebrate that he does. Contrary to what Joaquin Phoenix believes, it’s possible to be a master of the craft and court the acclaim without selling out. DDL seems to be doing it just fine.

The last time DDL was nominated (and won) it was in 2008 for There Will Be Blood. The other nominees that year were Viggo Mortensen, Tommy Lee Jones, George Clooney, and Johnny Depp. Clooney tried to put up a mild, mild fight but mostly conceded that whenever DDL’s in the race, everyone else should just sit down.

This year, the other contenders are expected to be Joaquin Phoenix (unless the Academy decides they won’t invite him since he doesn’t want to be invited), John Hawkes, one of the following -- Hugh Jackman, Richard Gere, Jamie Foxx, Bradley Cooper -- and Denzel Washington. They’re saying it’ll come down to DDL vs Washington, with DDL enjoying a big lead.

The World’s Greatest Actor -- do you think Denzel Washington would agree with that? Will Denzel let him have it without at least giving it a good sprint?